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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26072542">The Interview</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikaylaSarae/pseuds/NikaylaSarae'>NikaylaSarae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>StoryTime! [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:53:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,033</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26072542</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikaylaSarae/pseuds/NikaylaSarae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A normal day at StoryTime! Inc. takes an unexpected turn when Logan goes to investigate why his coworkers have made a bet using Crofters as the prize.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>StoryTime! [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1892767</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Cross-posted with minor edits from my Tumblr account @stillebesat.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Wait, wait.” Logan leaned forward in his chair, cradling the phone on his shoulder as his fingers flew across the keyboard, researching. “You want to illustrate your life story and call it,” he barely bit back a groan, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sat back. “Thomas,” Logan said as patiently as he could. “Sketch My Autobiography?” He flicked his eyes to the screen and away. “That’s literally a copy of <em> Draw My Life. </em> We can’t just slap a different name on it and expect people to think it’s new.” </p><p>“Ah. I thought it felt familiar, but it would be new though!” Thomas returned, undaunted by Logan’s less than enthusiastic response. “It’s MY life. And you know that my life has taken quite a few interesting turns, I mean our company wouldn’t be here without my hard work and it will be a fun way to do my autobiography. I mean, you can’t go wrong with Cartoons!” </p><p>Considering that they were now one of the biggest animation studios in the country, nearly as big as Disney, Logan couldn’t point out the fallacy of such a statement. After all, for all appearances, <em> StoryTime! Inc. </em> could do no wrong when it came to storytelling and animation. </p><p>That didn’t mean that he could just let Thomas use the company to animate every single idea he came up with though. No. They’d gotten their acclaim by being picky with what they created. Not every idea that came to the table could be done. And this was one of those times. </p><p>Logan tapped his fingers on the desk. “It is a good idea, Thomas, but I just don’t see how it could work without the audience immediately making connections between the two. <em> Draw My Life </em> has already been nominated for four Oscars this year! It’s too fresh. Do you really want to be compared to them?”</p><p>“Well...no…” </p><p> He’d thought not. “Look. Thomas, I don’t--”</p><p>“<em>I bet three jars of Crofters that he will.” </em>Patton’s tiny voice piped up from Logan’s smartwatch, interrupting his train of thought. </p><p><em> Crofters? </em> </p><p>Logan licked his lips, glancing to the doorway. It was a serious bet if Patton was bringing out the Crofters. A bet Patton wanted to win if he was slyly drawing Logan into the loop.</p><p>“You don’t what, Lo?” Thomas asked, his melancholy voice drawing him back to the present situation.</p><p>He frowned, adjusting his grip on the phone. What was Patton up to? “I...don’t think we can work with what you have now.” He said slowly. “But it could be a viable option.” </p><p>“You think so?” Thomas asked, perking up. </p><p><em> “Five jars that he won’t.” </em>Reese’s faint voice countered from the tiny speaker. </p><p>His eyes widened.<em> Five jars? </em></p><p>Logan swallowed, pushing his chair back as he stood, the phone gripped tightly in his hand. Five jars of Crofters. “Of course. It just needs to be rethought a bit.” He said, his free hand pressing a side button on his smartwatch to acknowledge Patton’s message before he fiddled with his tie, making sure it was centered on his chest. “You need to make the idea yours, Thomas. Make it Zany, Relatable, Fun.” All those words that Roman liked to use whenever the two of them were brainstorming together. “Just, rework it and get back to me by Friday with the redraft.” Logan hung up before Thomas could respond and darted through the door. He was not running, he was not! But there was Crofters on the line and he had to know why.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“He’s standing again!” Patton’s voice echoed down the hallway as Logan approached.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He? Who was ‘he’? And why did they care if this ‘he’ was standing or not?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on! Come on!” Callie encouraged as she stared out the window to the courtyard below.  “You can--aww.” Logan paused in the doorway as Callie slumped, twisting her headband in her hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He left. HUZZAH!” Reese declared triumphantly from where she sat across the room, her feet propped up on her desk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Callie shook her head as she took her seat, turning to Reese. “No, no. He’s back to circling the bench again.” She said, slipping her headband back on. “Poor thing is going to create his own moat around it at this point.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patton exhaled, resting a hand on the window he was seated near, the sketchpad on his lap teetering on the brink of falling to the ground as he pressed his head against the glass. “You were so close, kiddo.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you.” Reese lazily tossed a stress ball up in the air, catching it with ease. “He’s not going to come in, you might as well pay up now, Pattey-cake.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patton shook his head, most of his attention still on the scene below. “Nu-uh, Reese, be </span>
  <em>
    <span>Reese</span>
  </em>
  <span>onable. He hasn’t left yet. He could still come in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, please.” She scoffed, tossing her curly hair over her shoulder. “It’s been, what? Two hours now. If he had an appointment here, he’s waaaaaaayyy overdue. Pay up.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said when he left. He hasn’t left.” Patton pointed out, tapping his fingers against the glass. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said when he came in. He hasn’t come in!” Reese retorted, raising her arm to throw the stress ball at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan cleared his throat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Callie jumped at his voice, letting out a sound that could only be described as a squeak. She blushed, one hand rising to cover her mouth as she looked away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dare I ask what’s going on?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Usually Callie was a bit more aware of his comings and goings being closest to the doorway. What had her so distracted to not notice him?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese froze, slowly rolling her head back to look at Logan upside-down before she shifted her eyes to Patton and straightened, tossing the ball at him. “You gotta be kidding me.” She muttered, dropping her feet from off the desk. “Do you really have a sense about when we talk about jelly, Specs, or is Pat somehow cluing you into it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patton turned in time to avoid the ball, giving Reese a wide-eyed innocent stare as he picked it up and lobbed it back to her. “Me?”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She narrowed her eyes, catching the ball and placing it on her desk as she leaned forward. “You. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>doing something.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or I happened to be stretching my legs.” Logan remarked, adjusting his glasses. It wasn’t their fault Reese remained unaware of connection between their two watches. It had been Patton’s idea in the first place to tinker with the devices until they could send small soundbites to each other through them. A secret communication system as it were. “What’s this about jelly? Who’s outside?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have a bet going on whether or not the kiddo outside will come into the building.” Patton replied, picking up his sketch pad, twisting it to show a roughed out drawing of a young man in an ill fitting suit, with dyed hair, his bangs covering his eyes. “He’s…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A basket case?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patton frowned to Reese. “A little anxious.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese snorted, idly tapping a couple keys on her keyboard. “A little? If we had been filming, we could have had a full two hour storyboard on him by now.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan raised an eyebrow. “Storyboard?” What could the kid have been up to to warrant that?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patton shrugged, adjusting his own glasses. “Well, he’s quite expressive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good movement. Great for figure sketching.” Callie softly added with a shrug. “I noticed him first.” She gestured to the window when Logan looked at her.  “He keeps attempting to come inside, but then doesn’t. I think nerves are getting to him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Told you.” Reese said, spinning in her chair. “Basket case. He’ll fail the first deadline.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Give him a chance.” Patton murmured scooting to the side as Logan came up next to him to see for himself. Sure enough, the young man was there, pacing around one of the benches in the plaza, a large folder gripped tightly against his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Large enough to be a portfolio. Thick enough that it would hopefully show a variety of artistic styles and not just the one or two other potential hires thought they could get away with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe if they’d been applying to some of the other animation studios that would have been enough, but not </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They were always looking to tell their stories in new, unique ways and using a variety of art styles was often key to that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s certainly not the most anxious one we’ve seen.” Logan said in an undertone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pat chuckled. “For sure. Remember the incident with the palm tree?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan winced, automatically rubbing his wrist. “How could I forget?”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe he’s a vampire and needs to be invited inside.” Reese threw out, her cheek resting against her hand, curly hair covering half her face as she fiddled around with the computer mouse, staring at the computer screen in front of her. “Two handfuls of my Halloween candy says he is.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Two handfuls of my Christmas candy that he’s just shy.” Callie countered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese grimaced. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>offer Christmas candy </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>Thanksgiving, Cal!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She raised an eyebrow. “I just did?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it last year’s Christmas candy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Callie made a face. “No, and Ew! Who keeps Christmas candy uneaten for a year?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That would be a tragedy.” Patton agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As will be your loss when I get your six jars of Crofters and your Triple Death by Chocolate Brownies, Pattey-cake” Reese shot back, pointing a finger at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan’s eyebrows shot up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Six? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He mouthed in surprise. This was serious. Patton never involved more than four jars unless he felt strongly he’d win. What was it about the kid that had him so confident? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patton nodded. “He’s going to come in. I know he will.” He said, a determined glint in his eyes as he stared down at the young man. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese scoffed again. “No. He won’t.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you guys think he’s here for an interview?” Logan asked as the kid below collapsed onto the bench, head in his hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you seen anyone else carry a portfolio that large?” Patton asked, giving him a soft smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s large enough to paper the entire office.” Reese remarked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Callie nodded, fidgeting with her headband. “Which means it has to be for Roman.” She said, barely loud enough for Logan to hear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had lost a couple of people in his department recently due to Roman being his usual extravagant self with his high expectations. It would definitely explain the nervousness to come inside too. His brother had quite the reputation for being difficult to work with on good days. Bad days...well a Dragonwitch was a more favorable being to face than Roman when he was in one of his perfectionistic moods. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese shook her head, tapping her foot against her desk. “If he is here for him, the poor guy’s a goner already.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Reese.” Patton again chided, intent on the boy below. “He hasn’t left yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan pursed his lips. That was true. The fact that the young man hadn’t yet come in pointed to him already knowing this wasn’t going to be an easy interview. However. Patton was right. He hadn’t yet left.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded to himself. Perhaps all he needed was an encouraging push in the right direction. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Reese asked, sitting back in her chair. “It’s true. Roman expects perfection. This guy can’t even come inside a building on his first try. He’s going to bolt faster than that last dude did after Roman was done with him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Callie winced. “The poor thing.” She mumbled. “Broke a glass door and dropped his portfolio down the stairs fleeing from ‘The Prince.’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly. Two minutes tops. Another jar of Crofters that I’m right.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patton shook his head. “What do you think, Lo?” He asked quietly, glancing to him, tilting his head to the window. “You think he has a chance?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan sighed, taking off his glasses, cleaning them with his shirt as he stared down at the young man, watching as he took four steps towards </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>entrance before turning right back to the bench to circle it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had never had liked judging a book by its cover. You never knew the true contents until you looked inside and he wasn’t going to learn anything about the kid while he was up here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think.” Logan slipped the frames back on as he turned away from the window, rolling up his sleeves. “That I better get a couple jars of that jelly from one of you when I get back.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The security guards turned to him as the elevator dinged open and shared a look of surprise as he stepped out into the foyer. Logan ignored them, his attention focused on the young man he could see through the glass entrance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their visitor had sat down on the bench again, his head in his hands. Why? Why not come inside? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, Specs?” Ellyn called, fingering her security badge as she followed Logan’s gaze. “Is there a problem?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He waved her off, heading to the doors. “I’m fine, Ellyn.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chris, the other guard today, moved slowly to his feet, drawing the attention of everyone else passing through to what was happening. “But, Specs! You’re--” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan mentally rolled his eyes. “Leaving before dark, yes I know, I’ll be right back.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t that strange of an event. Rare yes. But according to office gossip, it was an absolute impossibility.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t unaware of that fact that he was often painted as the resident cryptid of </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!, </span>
  </em>
  <span>as it appeared to everyone else that he never went home. However, Logan was quite capable of leaving the building without a) malfunctioning, b) burning up, or c) turning out to be Roman in disguise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still. The whispers of frantic conversation starting up in his wake didn’t concern him as he pushed open the glass doors, walking out into the Florida heat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan frowned, feeling sweat already beginning to prickle on his forehead. If the boy had been out here for the entire two hours in that suit as Reese had claimed, perhaps his hunched position on the bench was more from heat exhaustion than nerves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or worse. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What if it was heat stroke? The boy’s inability to enter the building could be from confusion--Logan quickened his pace to reach him sooner. “Are you alright?” He asked, barely getting the question out before the boy jerked, a soft yelp leaving his lips as he tumbled backwards off the bench.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan reacted instinctively. Years of having to save Roman from similar predicaments giving him the proper reflexes to catch the kid by the hand before his head could hit the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apologies” Logan said, pulling him back onto the bench. “It wasn’t my intention to startle you.” He had thought his approach quite obvious. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps Reese was right that the boy wouldn’t last long--no, he wasn’t going to judge the cover of the book, not yet. People were often nervous before interviews. Logan had been a bundle of nerves himself when he and Roman had first approached Thomas about being hired on and Roman’s portfolio had been a third of the size of the one this kid had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s...fine.” The boy--no the young man had to be in his early twenties--said, pulling his hand free, rubbing it against his pants. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An odd move. The man’s hands hadn’t been sweaty. A self soothing gesture? Or did he not like being touched? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I highly doubt you’re fine.” Logan commented, relaxing a little as the stranger looked up with red stained cheeks, meeting his eyes with mismatched ones.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huh. Green and Purple. Heterochromia. Unexpected, but fitting for the story boarding idea the others had tossed around upstairs. At least the pupils weren’t dilated and the man didn’t appear dazed, only embarrassed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan offered a small smile, adjusting his glasses. “As it has been noted that you’ve been out here for quite some time.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not long enough to get heat exhaustion, thankfully. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man stiffened, mismatched eyes flicking up to the building behind Logan before he groaned, dropping his head back into his hands. “Let me guess...they sent you out here to escort me off the property?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan blinked as the young man suddenly flowed to his feet, cradling his portfolio protectively in his arms, already half turned away to the parking lot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Had it been a mistake for him to come out here? The boy seemed quite eager to leave---No, if it wasn’t heat stroke, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be nerves...a lot of nerves if Logan was being mistaken for security. He wasn’t wearing anything at all like Chris or Ellyn’s uniform. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You would be incorrect.” Logan glanced to the bulging portfolio, gesturing to it. “I merely saw you pacing and thought I could offer some assistance. Am I correct in assuming you are here for an interview?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man scoffed, pressing the portfolio against his chest. “Well yeah, Sherlock. Pretty sure the portfolio gave that away--” He flinched, eyes going wide. “--Wait, please don’t tell me that you’re Roman Prince and I totally just ruined this!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bingo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan smirked, adjusting his glasses as the interviewee paled. “I’m not Roman, no.” He reassured him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thank Crofters for that. The world wouldn’t be able to handle having two Romans wandering about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, he much preferred this guy’s Sherlock comment than being mistaken for his brother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But your hesitancy to enter the building makes much more sense now.” Logan said, folding his arms. “He can be rather intimidating and difficult to impress when it comes to interviews.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The interviewee ran a hand through his purple tinged hair, pushing his bangs back over his eyes, his heterochromia less visible in the shadows. “Great.” He shook his head. “That doesn’t help my nerves at all, dude. Why not just cut my agony short and tell me it’s pointless to even go in there and face him?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It probably was. Roman was very picky about who worked with him and if they couldn’t take his figurative heat---</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But this was pre-interview nerves, Patton hadn’t done much better, speaking so fast that Logan had barely been able to follow his words and now he was an integral part of </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime! </span>
  </em>
  <span>with his ability to tell just what was needed to get their viewers to feel the intended emotions within the film. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And this man had an interview scheduled with his brother, which meant that Remy had passed him on not once but four times in the stringent pre-interview requirements that Roman had stated were necessary to keep him from ‘wasting his time.’ </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was potential here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adjusting his tie, Logan raised an eyebrow. “I can’t give a fair judgement on that unless I can see your portfolio first.” He said, holding out his hand to the bulging portfolio. “May I?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man narrowed his eyes, fingers tightening on his work. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Possessive. Just like Roman when he was reluctant to share a new idea until it was ‘fully realized.’ </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to be brutally honest with me?” The man asked, jaw set. “No sugar coating it just so you can see me suffer The Prince treatment inside?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Prince Treatment? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Was that what forums were calling it now?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have my word.” Logan said without hesitation, wiggling his fingers. “I will be honest in my assessment of your potential.” After all, he’d been Roman’s sounding board growing up. He knew what his brother would be looking for. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man stared him down for two more full breaths before he exhaled, giving a jerk of a nod as he held out his portfolio. “Alright.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reverently Logan took the man’s work, and moved to sit on the bench, gesturing with his free hand next to him. “Why don’t you sit while I look?” He invited.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow, he wasn’t that surprised when the interviewee refused with a shake of his head. “I prefer to stand thanks.” He said again glancing to the parking lot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Already expecting Logan to say no, apparently. Was the pessimism from nerves or the kid’s general outlook? He shrugged, pushing up his glasses as he flipped open to the first page, skimming over the resume, knowing that Roman would be less interested in the degree and the amount of jobs the kid had had and more focused on seeing his skills as an artist. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...Virgil is it?” He asked, glancing at the name at the top of the page. For all the effort Logan was putting into convincing this kid to stay long enough to see Roman, his work better be phenomenal. “Why do you want to work for </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He flipped to the first piece of work which, at first glance, looked like it could have been lifted from </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!’</span>
  </em>
  <span>s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jericho &amp; Apollo</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Not that impressive, especially when they were looking for other styl--wait. He leaned in closer, tracing the lines of the characters with his eyes. Was this...all one unbroken line?  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil scoffed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit, looking as uncomfortable in it as Roman did in street clothes. “Are you interviewing me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Officially? No.” Logan said absently, following every curve. It was unbroken. He couldn’t tell where Virgil had begun or ended. Logan looked up. “But a bit of practice before the actual interview doesn’t hurt now does it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last time he’d tried to interfere with his brother’s hires…well...it hadn’t ended well. Logan was only intervening now out of professional curiosity--and because of the Crofters bet going on upstairs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But his curiosity only grew as he turned to the next page, fighting not to smile at a rendition of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Baby Bird Watch </span>
  </em>
  <span>done only in fingerprints. Creative. Patton had mentioned wanting to try something like that on their date last week. He hadn’t thought anyone else--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil licked his lips. “I...suppose not.” His mismatched eyes flicked to the building and back to Logan as he exhaled. “Well, cliche as it sounds. I’ve followed </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!</span>
  </em>
  <span> since the very beginning when Thomas Sanders just had his phone and </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vine</span>
  </em>
  <span> to work with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Vine? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“That’s quite a while.” He remarked, keeping his tone neutral as he turned to the next page. “Most people wouldn’t know what you meant if you brought up </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vine </span>
  </em>
  <span>now.” He was pretty sure none of their newest hires knew of Thomas’s humble beginnings in film. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil chuckled, a sound that was actually quite pleasant to the ear. “Don’t I know it.” He agreed, tense shoulders relaxing as he gave a small genuine smile. “His videos there were cheesy but good natured. The fact that Thomas could create such a positive impact in six seconds was...well it impressed me. Honestly, those videos were about the only thing that got me through some of my darkest days back then. Still do even now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan hummed in agreement. He and Roman had their own </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vine </span>
  </em>
  <span>compilations of Thomas that they would revisit on particularly bad days. Patton was in the middle of composing his own, having only recently been introduced to the short videos by Logan. “He does have a knack for knowing how to make people smile.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil nodded, pacing back and forth in front of Logan as he slowly thumbed through the portfolio, studying each page with an interest that he didn’t have to fake. It was deceptive. A quick glance through would make one think that Virgil had been working for </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime! </span>
  </em>
  <span>for years, yet there was always something that set his work apart. Something that begged Logan to take more time to look at each piece than he normally would have. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He barely stopped himself from jumping as Virgil unexpectedly sat down beside him only realizing he had stopped listening to the man at that moment as Virgil tapped on a willowy version of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sir Sing-A-Lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>with the bear cub from </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crofters: The Musical. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Thomas kept his roots when he started </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!, </span>
  </em>
  <span>kept the positivity, the hopeful messages within and I just…” That small smile played on Virgil’s lips again as he brushed the edges of the page. “I admire it. I want to be a part of it. Help others like he helped me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan drew in a breath, this kid sounded so much like Roman when he talked like that. “That’s a good goal to have, Virgil.” He said, his fingers hovering over the drawing as he followed the swirls in the cubs fur. “But you are correct with it being cliche.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>More than cliche. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wanting to help others like Thomas has helped me</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ was practically a catch phrase in interviews. Remy and Callie had an ongoing licorice bet on how long the streak would last. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was already very apparent that Virgil had the skills to work at </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but there still was the question of him being able to fit in. And while Roman may not care about job history---</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“However,” Logan continued, looking up. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime! </span>
  </em>
  <span>prefers to hire people with the intention that they’ll stay on. We’re a FamILY here.” A phrase that Patton had coined that Thomas had immediately made their company motto. “We support each other, and would prefer to have individuals that don’t give up at the first sign of trouble.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was the failing point of most of Roman’s interviewees. They came in all starry eyed, expecting the work at </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be all sunshine and petting kittens, only to end up ill-prepared to handle the pressure of deadlines or bond well with the rest of their peers. Virgil kept looking for an exit before the interview had even happened...would he be willing to stick it out through the bad moments as well as the good? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan adjusted his glasses, glancing from the corner of his eye to Virgil, noting that an odd look had come onto his face. It almost looked like...longing--but no, it vanished as Virgil turned to him, hands clenching. “I’m not the sort to give up after one setback, sir.” He stated, firmly. “You can believe that.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan frowned. “You don’t give up--” What about all that talk of leaving? What about wanting Logan to tell him it was pointless to go in to the interview? What about-- He thumbed back to the first page, jabbing a finger at the job history. “Yet, here, it shows that you’ve held quite the series of jobs in the last six years.” He looked up, staring Virgil down. “Why is that?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil audibly swallowed, panic flashing across his face. “I--” He slumped and stood, running his hands through his hair. “I don’t give up.” He repeated, shoulders hunching to the point they nearly touched his ears. “I took most of those jobs in the first place to save up for classes to improve my drawing and animating techniques.” He mumbled, kicking at the grass. “It wasn’t my intention to stay with them long.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan leaned in, watching the microexpressions on Virgil’s face as he spoke. There was more of a story there than was being told. Anger, sadness, frustration. Why had he felt the need to switch jobs so often? He’d barely lasted longer than six months in most of them. It could be a sign that he didn’t work well with others and working for </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime! </span>
  </em>
  <span>involved a lot of collaboration. No one could lone wolf it for long here. Not even Roman despite what he proclaimed  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t a good sign. Despite his skills, Virgil would need to be a team player and it didn’t look like he could do that. Logan pursed his lips, closing the portfolio. “I see.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil stiffened, eyes flashing with fire as he whirled to Logan, crouching down in front of him, his breath coming quick and shallow as he flipped his portfolio back open. “I’m a hard worker, sir.” He stated forcefully, keeping eye contact with Logan as he jabbed a finger at the education portion of his resume. “I don’t slack off. I don’t quit a job until it quits me first.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Quits him first? Logan opened his mouth, surprised at the sudden turn around in Virgil’s attitude. What did--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil didn’t let him say a word. “You can see here that I graduated last year with a double Bachelors in Illustration and Animation, Summa Cum Laude.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A difficult feat. Roman had struggled to do a similar thing with Creative Writing and Illustration without the Summa Cum Laude. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you have.” He murmured, though he wasn’t sure Virgil heard him as the interviewee flipped through his portfolio to later pages that Logan hadn’t yet reached, stopping on an image of a dragon made from smoke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It took me a week to perfect this technique.” His mouth twitched upwards as he stared at the image. “I burned through two sketchbooks, singed my eyebrows, and set off four fire alarms before I could get the paper to blacken correctly and create this smokey texture.” He turned multiple pages, each showing the same technique.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan couldn’t help but smile at the fervor in Virgil’s tone, the light of accomplishment that danced in his eyes. It was so much like Roman’s, down to the nearly burning down of apartments. He hadn’t expected such passion to be found within--but of course, he should never have doubted that it existed. Not with how thick and varied Virgil’s portfolio was. It just needed to be encouraged, allowed to flourish.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or even this!” Virgil continued, flipping further back to a shimmering green basilisk. “The scales? Their shimmer?” He looked up and faltered, the fervor dying in a flash as he wilted, his cheeks again going red upon catching Logan looking at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go on.” He encouraged, hating to see the flame of passion go out as quickly as it had sprung up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil took a breath, breaking eye contact. “I-I-went to every store in the valley to find the right composite of pearlescent ink to put on these scales.” He continued, worrying his bottom lip as he kept his tone soft. “I spent hours getting it to flow just right and look.” He tilted the page, the green scales shifting to a brilliant white.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of all the--Logan couldn’t help a gasp from escaping his lips as he took the page, brushing Virgil’s hand as he tilted the image back and forth. “Amazing.” He murmured. “A casual viewer wouldn’t know you used two different shades until they moved the page. It’s a…pleasant surprise.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though he didn’t know how it could be used in animation...it was a stroke of genius. Logan could easily picture his brother locking Virgil in a room with him to teach him the method. He adjusted his glasses, looking up. “Well done, Virgil.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ducked his head, his face getting redder. “Uh..tha--thanks.” He mumbled, pushing to his feet, rubbing his fingers against his pants as he looked away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huh. It didn’t seem like Virgil was used to praise if he reacted like this. Most applicants would preen and boast further about their work. And while Virgil had a clear passion for his art...it still didn’t answer how well he’d work in a group setting. Especially with Roman. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So.” Logan said, patting the bench next to him to encourage Virgil to sit back down. “Hypothetically. If Roman were to harangue you because there is a storyboard due in fifteen minutes for presentation and you’ve drawn the main character all wrong because the MC’s look had not been made clear to you, what would you do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil gaped at him before giving the slightest shakes of his head, cautiously sitting. “I---I um---” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“An honest answer, Virgil.” Logan said, leaning forward, watching his microexpressions intently. “Your true reaction. Not what you think I want to hear.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil hesitated, running his hand through his hair, before shrugging, a defiant flicker in his eyes. “Honestly….” He clicked his tongue, glancing to the building. “Honestly, I would call him nine types of an idiot for not checking in with me sooner to make sure I was fulfilling his vision. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan barely kept himself from gaping, forcing his expression to remain neutral. The boy had seemed so worried about making a bad impression on his brother, and now he was willing to call him an idiot? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But also--” Virgil grimaced, rubbing his fingers against the cuffs on his sleeves. “I would be calling myself the same names for not making more of an effort to clarify the MC’s key characteristics with him.” He gestured to the portfolio. “I would make an argument for keeping the current version, since the look of a character doesn’t have to be set in stone for storyboarding ...and if I couldn’t convince Princey to go with it then...well… I would-- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Walk out?” Logan asked, tilting his head. Others had done so for lesser reasons. Roman was as stubborn as a mule most days when it came to realizing his vision---</span>
</p>
<p><span>“Wha--no!” Virgil jerked his attention back to Logan, eyes wide. “For how hard I’ve worked to get here I wouldn’t walk over something like </span><em><span>that!</span></em><span> I want this!</span> <span>My dream of working here is the only reason I---” Virgil huffed, tugging at the collar of his suit. “If Princey remains as stubborn and perfectionistic as the forums paint him then I would fix the MC’s design. If I had drawn it on the computer, I would simply sketch a couple of quick replacements and copy/paste. Easy enough.”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Easy enough? Logan had seen more experienced artists yell at Roman that what he wanted was impossible and this kid was saying---”Easy enough indeed.” He murmured, fighting back a smile as he flipped through the portfolio, pausing at a market scene similar to the original Aladdin. “And if it had been hand drawn?” He asked. Storyboarding wasn’t as difficult as the main animation, but the boy had emphasized computer sketches. “Roman usually likes the first storyboard presentation to be drawn on paper first.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil made a face. “Of course he does.” He said under his breath, barely loud enough for Logan to hear. “If that’s the case--” He exhaled. “It would be a nightmare to redo, but I would make it work.” His lips twitched as he ran his fingers through his hair, mismatched eyes glimmering with mischief. “Though I would be calling Princey a variety of bad nicknames under my breath the entire time I was redrawing to make myself feel better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan covered his mouth with his hand, failing to hide the laugh that burst from his lips. If what the kid said was true, he may end up being just as stubborn as his brother. “I hope that they would be creative.” He remarked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Roman would be offended at anything...simple. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, again giving that warm laugh. “Considering my past track record with nicknaming, I’m sure I could come up with a few good one--Oh hey!” He snapped his fingers, standing. “Come to think of it.” He pulled out a battered phone. “I actually had to do a similar scenario to yours in my second year of college.” He confessed, showing Logan the cracked screen, swiping quickly through a mosaic of stained storyboards. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Half an hour before our final project was due for presentation, a cotton-headed ninny muggins spilled their stale coffee all over my group’s storyboard we’d spent the last month working on and we had to quickly draw replacements.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A group project? So Virgil could work with others. “Really?” He asked, quickly taking the phone to scroll through the images himself, pausing at the ones that showcased the worst of the coffee stains, but at the same time, showed Virgil with four others. The members of his group if Logan wasn’t mistaken. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was also no question that most of their work had been ruined, Logan couldn’t help but wince in sympathy. “I’ve been there myself.” He said, smoothing down his tie. Though he had had three days to fix his project instead of half an hour. It had been a nightmare. He paused, studying the replacements. “How did you do on this project, after the redraws, if I may ask?” The new sketches still had most of their cohesiveness, showing that the group had worked together to merge their styles, but Logan could still pick out quirks, slightly differentiating each artist from the other. The question was...which of these were Virgil’s? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil shrugged, gesturing offhandedly, ducking his head. “We managed an A-” He said, his tone tinged with pride. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An A- after all that? Logan whistled, handing back the phone. “Impressive. And out of the ruined ones, how many did you personally redraw?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How man--ummm” Virgil chewed his bottom lip, frowning down at his phone, his fingers tapping against his thigh. “Me, personally...I took around twenty.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan straightened. “Twenty?” He repeated, not sure he’d heard correctly. “In half an hour?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil flushed, nodding as he kicked at the grass. “Yah. I was the quickest at the line art in that group. The other four divided up the remaining thirty between them.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan blinked, mentally calculating before giving a soft laugh. “Once again, Virgil. Impressive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The young man’s face went even more red as he hunched his shoulders, looking at the ground. “It wasn’t--well….um...Thanks.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He definitely wasn’t used to receiving compliments. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is impressive, Virgil.” Logan repeated, leaning forward with a smile, wishing he hadn’t handed the phone back so soon so he could recheck the images. At least he still had the portfolio in his hands. “Not many people here could do such a quick turn around after such a disaster.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even his brother wouldn’t have been as quick. He thumbed through more of the artwork, stopping at a Sallyized version of Jack Skellington and smirked. Oh. He recognized this particular image. Had Remy known--- probably not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan looked up tapping the picture. “Nor would many dare to call Roman an idiot to his face. He could probably use more of an ego check.” Crofters knew how often Logan had had to do it to his brother. Most of the company worshiped the ground Roman walked on.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil offered his own conspiratorial smile, spreading his arms. “Well, I’m sure I could give Princey that ego check if needed. I’m quite used to being the villain.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A villain? Logan jerked his eyes to Virgil’s mismatched ones, searching his face, looking for any hint as to why the young man before him would refer to himself as such. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil paled under his scrutiny, his eyes widening with fear, his hands lowering as his feet shifted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Preparing to run. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan couldn’t let that happen, not when he didn’t know the full story. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your drawing style is rather unique compared to </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>usual stuff.” He said instead, tilting his head down to the portfolio in his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The portfolio he knew Virgil would not leave. Not from how possessive he’d been of it in the beginning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You tend to draw in darker color schemes, use thinner lines, and showcase typically good characters as your villains. He flipped back through the portfolio to point out a Princess dressed in green and black, holding a fractured scepter before turning the page to a thin angular baker pulling skull cookies out of the oven. “While using the typical hero shapes of circles and squares on your villains.” He gestured to a square jawed vampire, pulling children from a burning home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was an odd take, a different take. Very different from </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!’</span>
  </em>
  <span>s usually brighter motif. “Why do you think this sort of thing could be a fit for </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil clenched his shaking hands, drawing in a shallow breath, focusing in on the artwork Logan held. “There’s--” He swallowed, clearing his throat. “There’s been a surge in people empathizing with the bad guys recently.” He said, quietly. “Wanting to know their backstory, see what caused them to go...well…” He shrugged. “Bad.” He cautiously sat next to Logan on the bench. “Even Disney’s caught onto that fact.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Really? Logan hummed, nodding for Virgil to continue, intrigued by the explanation. “Go on.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The young man licked his lips as he reached out, flipping through the pages to a different series of works, all villains. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can see it with Disney choosing to retell Sleeping Beauty with Maleficent’s backstory as the main focus.” He said, gesturing to a softer smaller version of Maleficent in her dragon form, curled around a broken spindle. “They already have firm plans to do a similar thing with 101 Dalmatians and Cruella and maybe with Ursula in the Little Mermaid or the Evil Queen in Snow White. It’s a trend that </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!</span>
  </em>
  <span> should jump onto and take charge of.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was true. With their live action retellings of their older tales, Disney had given more life to their villains, giving them a richer background that hadn’t been explored before. Even Patton had been taken by the altered version of Sleeping Beauty, empathizing with Maleficent’s plight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil tapped his portfolio as Logan stayed silent. “Because no one and I mean No. One. Else. is better at turning tropes on their heads than </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime! </span>
  </em>
  <span>is.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ha. Logan smiled fondly. Thomas had a knack for that for sure. Gaining sympathy, proving points. Roman struggled sometimes with the black and white mentality, but Thomas? Yes. Thomas had that vision to think outside the box.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil gestured to the building. “From the very beginning, you’ve twisted plots into unexpected directions, created morally grey characters that the audience should expect to hate, only for them to come out of the theaters ardent supporters of them, praising your plotlines and attention to details and I...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked up, faltering as he caught Logan’s intent gaze and jerked his hand back, flushing once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you?” Logan asked, keeping his tone gentle. He could see the fire within Virgil. See his passion for </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime! </span>
  </em>
  <span>It just needed to be fanned a little more. Allowed to flourish. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil looked away, placing his hands in his lap. “And I think telling stories from the villain's point of view could be </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!</span>
  </em>
  <span>’s next big break and…” He bit his lip, taking a steadying breath as he looked back up. “I would love to be a part of it, if given the chance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan nodded thoughtfully, slowly closing the portfolio, holding it lightly in his hands as he stared at </span>
  <em>
    <span>StoryTime!’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>front doors. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If given a chance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His artwork proved Virgil was more than capable. His apparent quick turnaround when a problem arose was impressive. His willingness to put Roman in his place, refreshing. And yet---what would his brother think? Would Roman even see the Jack Skellington that he’d had spent hours fawning over to Logan when he’d first come across it online?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No. If Virgil didn’t give off the right impression, didn’t show his confidence. His brother would dismiss him without a thought, sending potentially refreshing talent out the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil fidgeted, his shoes scuffing against the rocks, pulling Logan from his thoughts. “Well?” He asked, holding out his hand to take his portfolio back. “Do you think I have a chance in my interview with Princey?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan made no move to return Virgil’s work. Instead slowly looking up, meeting his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This could be exactly what the company needed, and Logan wasn’t willing to leave it up to chance. Leave it up to his brother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Virgil.” He said quietly. “I’m going to have to say-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Virgil tensed, shoulders already hunching, expecting rejection. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Logan gave him a warm smile. “That you’re hired.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil froze like a deer in the headlights, barely appearing to breathe. “<em>What </em>?”</p><p>Logan raised an eyebrow, his smile becoming more amused. Had Virgil really expected him to say no--of course he had. </p><p>“I said that you’re hired, Virgil.” He stood, carefully keeping the portfolio out of reach so the kid wouldn’t bolt. “Why don’t we head inside to work out the particulars?” Like informing Roman that he had once more overstepped. </p><p>Hopefully this wouldn’t come back to bite him as hard as last time. </p><p>“But.” Virgil shook his head, apparently rooted in place. “This wasn’t a real inter--” He inhaled sharply, jabbing an accusing finger at Logan’s chest. “You said you weren’t Princey!” </p><p>Logan pushed up his glasses with one finger, fighting a smile. “I said I wasn’t Roman.” He replied easily. “Not that I wasn’t a Prince.” Besides. His brother wasn’t the only one with hiring power in the building. </p><p>Virgil frowned, rubbing his arms. “You’re a Prince? But how--records show--and if you’re <em> not </em> Roma--” He inhaled sharply, eyes growing wide. “<em>Wait. </em>” He took a step closer to Logan. “You’re telling me that you’re--” He dropped his voice, glancing furtively around the plaza. “Logan? Logan Prince?” </p><p>The portfolio nearly slipped from his fingers at the mention of his name. That--that should be impossible! “How--?”  Logan breathed, ignoring the frantic pounding of his heart. </p><p>He could count the number of people that knew his name in the company on one hand. To everyone else, even on official records, he was simply known as ‘Specs.’ </p><p>The nickname didn’t help his cryptid status at all, but did keep everyone from lumping him and Roman together like they were one entity instead of two. It had finally allowed both of them to spread their figurative wings and take their own paths without feeling like they were in each other's shadows.</p><p>And now this...this outsider...knew his name?! HOW?!</p><p>Virgil licked his lips, dropping the hand that had been outstretched for his portfolio. “Well...I did say I’ve followed Thomas from the beginning.” He shrugged, a bit of mischief glinting in his mismatched eyes. “I saw a photo of an early script of Princey’s.”</p><p>A <em> script </em>? Logan raised his eyebrows. A script--which script? He’d signed off as Specs on his collaborations with his brother for years. They couldn’t have slipped up over something as little as--</p><p>“Zooming in on the picture showed both your names on it, though it was hard to make out yours as its smudged with glitter and partially covered by Roman’s hand.” Virgil continued, staring at Logan as if he’d discovered Bigfoot. </p><p>In a way he had. </p><p>“Glitter?” Logan frowned. Roman hadn’t used glitter on screenplays since--oh. <em> OH. </em>“Are you meaning that four hundred page Sherlock inspired screenplay?” He asked, half turning to the building. </p><p>Virgil nodded, drawing closer. “The one where Watson just freaking dies and a new less emotional sidekick takes place? Yes.” </p><p>Logan chuckled, shaking his head. Of all the pieces that would expose him, it had to be that one. “I hadn’t realized he posted images of that.” He said, heading for the entrance, glancing over his shoulder to ensure Virgil was following. “We wrote it together one weekend while we were stranded at an airport.” </p><p>Virgil whistled. “That’s--wow. Four hundred pages in two days? You two are crazy!”</p><p>“Bored more like.” They’d been between projects and driving each other mad, it had been something to keep the two of them equally entertained. “And it was written in three and a half days, plus the ten hour flight.” </p><p>Again Virgil whistled, eyes wide. “Impressive.”</p><p>Logan shrugged. “Yah...well. That’s my--” he dropped his voice as he grabbed the door, noting the gaggle of people still hovering in the foyer, watching the two of them. “Twin for you.” He returned to speaking to his normal tones as if nothing had happened. “Once Roman gets inspired, it’s hard to get him to stop.” Another reason why it was difficult to keep people in his department. Few people could go as long or as hard as his brother could. </p><p>Virgil stumbled a step, hesitating right outside the doorway. “<em> Twin?” </em> He echoed softly. “I had thought---I had a theory there were Two Princes at <em> StoryTime!, b </em>ut I didn’t think you two were---HOW has this not gotten out?!” </p><p>Because they didn’t want to be known just as <em> The Twins </em>anymore. That’s why. </p><p>Logan shrugged. “We don’t want it to. So it doesn’t.” Though now that Virgil had connected the dots-- “And I hope you won’t--”</p><p>Virgil rubbed his arms, shaking his head as he looked to the people in the lobby. “Dude, don’t worry. I can keep a secret.” </p><p>That would remain to be seen, but Logan appreciated the sentiment. Though he would be more comfortable having this conversation without so many listening ears nearby. After all, he was already drawing them far too much attention because ‘Specs’ wasn’t supposed to be able to leave the building and Virgil was just standing there like a statu--</p><p>
  <em> Maybe he’s a vampire and needs to be invited inside.  </em>
</p><p>Logan bit back a smile as Reese’s words echoed in his head. “Then come in, Virgil.” he said, holding the door open a little wider. “I promise we don’t bite. Roman’s more bark than anything.”  </p><p>Virgil hunched his shoulders, pushing his bangs over his eyes, before drawing in a steadying breath. “Okay.” He whispered, stepping over the threshold onto the marble tiles, looking around with cautious curiosity. </p><p>“This way.” Logan said, ignoring Ellyn and Chris’s glances as he snagged a visitor’s pass from the front desk, tossing it to Virgil. “You’ll need to wear that until you’re coded into the system.”</p><p>“When will that be?” Virgil asked, slipping the pass over his head as Logan pressed the button for the elevator. </p><p>He hummed, tapping the portfolio. That was a good question. “It would depend on when you can--”</p><p>“SPECS!” A voice boomed overhead from the floor above, echoing around the lobby. “THERE you are!” </p><p>Well...that saved him the trouble of tracking his brother down. “What does he want now?” Logan asked under his breath as he turned towards the figure standing at the top of the steps. Roman could vanish at the worst possible times and turn up in the oddest of places like the air ducts above the cafeteria.</p><p>Virgil jerked. “Specs?” His eyes sparked, lighting up like Logan had just told him aliens existed. “Specs...of course!” He breathed as the elevator dinged, the doors sliding open. “It makes so much sense how you kept this--I’d wondered but--” Virgil frowned. “But I thought you never went outside!” </p><p>Clever. Virgil was piecing things together much faster than ninety-eight percent of the company ever would. </p><p>Logan flashed him a smile, putting a finger to his lips, aware of the guards and other associates standing nearby. He was liking this kid more and more every moment. “I usually don’t.” He said, dropping the smile as a man wearing a white jacket and red sash slid down the banister of the staircase like...well a Prince straight from a Disney movie, skidding to a stop in front of the two of them. </p><p>“About time I found you!” His brother cried, barely glancing to Virgil, before laser focusing in on Logan.</p><p>“You have perfect timing as always, Roman.” Logan said, placing a hand on Virgil’s elbow, pulling him inside the elevator. “I was just heading back upstairs to find you.” </p><p>Roman blinked. “Find me? What for?” He demanded, following the two of them inside, hitting the button for the ninth floor. “I’ve spent the last twenty minutes trying to track you down and now <em> you </em> want to find <em> me </em>?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Of course you do this to me two minutes before my next interview--”</p><p>“For Virgil right?” </p><p>Roman gaped at him, eyes narrowing as the doors slid shut. “How did you--” </p><p>Time to jump into the fire. “I just hired him for your department.” Logan said, gesturing to the third member of their little elevator party.</p><p>Roman froze, mouth half open, before his hands clenched. “You. <em> WHAT?! </em>” </p><p>“I hired him--am I not speaking clearly today?” Logan asked looking to Virgil with a raised eyebrow. “You did the same thing when I told you you were hired too.” </p><p>Virgil shook his head, crossing his arms, his hand rubbing the spot Logan had grabbed as Roman gave him the once over. “No. It’s just a statement that not many people will find believable...apparently.” </p><p>“Oh no, it’s believable, if I allowed your interview to be scheduled in the first place, but Specs.” Roman growled, glaring at Logan. “We agreed you wouldn’t interfere--”</p><p>“With your hires.” He finished. “I know, but trust me,<em> brother </em>.” Logan said stressing the word as he held out Virgil’s portfolio. If he was right, and he normally was, Roman wouldn’t be mad at him for long. </p><p>Roman froze, hand already outstretched, eyes flicking to Virgil and back. “He?”</p><p>“Knows we’re related, thanks to you.” </p><p>“To me! I haven’t said a word--” Roman denied, taking the portfolio and flipping it open as he leaned against the wall.</p><p>“Virgil, care to explain?” </p><p>“I…” Virgil flushed under their combined stares, setting his chin stubbornly. “The Sherlock screenplay. I noticed that Logan’s name wasn’t completely covered when you took the picture and dug around a bit--Do people here really not know you’re related?” </p><p>They both shook their heads. “No.”</p><p>Virgil scoffed, gesturing between them. “But you two look exactly the same!” </p><p>“Only a handful know.” Logan clarified, pointedly adjusting the frames of his glasses. </p><p>It helped that they weren’t often seen together. Most of their meetups took place in the privacy of their offices.</p><p>“Like three people--Spec’s does great as Clark Kent--” Roman jerked his head up from the portfolio. “Don’t tell me you hired him because he’s blackmailing you!?” He demanded, jabbing a finger at Virgil.</p><p>Virgil flinched, but took a step forward, eyes blazing. “I wouldn’t do that, Princey.” He growled. </p><p>
  <em> I’m quite used to being the villain. </em>
</p><p>“Princey?” Roman repeated, his own eyes darkening. </p><p>Virgil faltered, glancing to Logan. “I--I---uh.” </p><p>Logan gave him a reassuring smile, nodding to Roman “Go on, Virgil. Speak your mind.” He wanted to see if the new hire would actually stand up to his brother as he’d stated outside. </p><p>Virgil set his jaw, taking a breath, staring Roman down. “I’m here because <em> you </em> were willing to give me a chance, sir. No other motive. I want to work here on my own merit. Not through...through <em> blackmail. </em>” He practically spat the word. “My Two Princes theory was just that. A theory until Lo--Specs here confirmed it.” </p><p>Logan winced as Roman side eyed him. Busted.</p><p>"Well…color me impressed that you got Dr. Roboto here to confirm anything, kid. Usually he's sealed tighter than a jar of Crofters." Roman snapped the portfolio shut as the elevator doors opened. "Don't count your eggs though. I'm not so easily swayed." </p><p>Logan rolled his eyes. Ah Huh. Yah right. "Page twenty-eight." He said tapping the top of the portfolio as they stepped out onto the landing. "Then you'll understand one of the factors that lead to me hiring Virgil." </p><p>Roman scoffed. <em> "One </em> image led you to hire him over my head? Are you addled?" </p><p>"I would…agree." Virgil said slowly, glancing between the two as he moved down the hallway with them. "Compared to my other works, I don't see how that one-"</p><p>Logan glanced to Virgil as he pulled open a door with <b><em>Roman Prince</em></b> written in cursive on the glass. He would see soon enough. "I can assure you both that my cognitive function has been unaffected in my decision.” He gestured Virgil to step inside. “Your overall work is beyond noteworthy and while the one drawing is <em>A </em>factor for my decision to hire you, it is not <em>The </em>factor. Your work shows a much larger variety than any others I’ve seen.” </p><p>“The thing weighs a ton, I would hope it would show some range.” Roman said, flipping through the various works much faster than Logan had. </p><p>A pity. His brother wouldn't be able to see the intricacies of each piece doing that, though of course he had encouraged Roman to look at one particular page. </p><p>“I wouldn’t think you’d mind the size, Roman. You are the one interviewing for ‘fresh blood’ are you not or was there another reason you were whining to me just last night about the lack of talent in your department?” </p><p>His brother made a face, not looking up as he kicked the door shut. "A Prince does not<em> whine! </em> I merely bemoan the lack of talent the kids these days ha-- <em> WHAT </em>!?" Roman shrieked, loud enough Logan was sure the entire building heard him as he stared dumbfounded at page twenty-eight.</p><p>Bingo. Logan smirked, adjusting his glasses as closed the blinds on the windows to keep curious eyes at bay. He could already imagine the bets that Remy would be putting down on why ‘The Prince’ had screamed this time.</p><p>Roman whirled to Virgil, practically shoving the picture into the kid’s startled face. "<em> You drew this?! </em>" </p><p>Virgil blinked down at the Sallyized version of Jack Skellington before raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"</p><p>Roman's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas as he set the portfolio down on his desk and pulled out his phone, swiping at the screen before he turned it to them both showing an online art account with the same exact drawing with the same stormcloud signature on the bottom. "You're telling me <em> this </em> is you? That you're--!"</p><p>"<em> EmoKnightmare478 </em>?" Virgil ran his hand through his hair. “Yah. That's me, Princey, but how--why?" </p><p>“YES!” Roman cried out, grabbing Logan’s his hands as he practically broke into a dance, waltzing them around the room before he switched to jumping up and down like an excited child at Christmas with Logan doing his best to just turn with his brother’s antics so he wouldn’t lose his hands. "YES YES YES YES YES YES!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, LOGAROO!! YOU FOUND STORMCLOUD! HE APPLIED! HE WANTS TO WORK--!! LOGAN! AHHHHH!!!!" </p><p>“Am I...missing something here?” Virgil asked, resting a hand on his artwork, safely keeping his distance from Roman’s prancing.</p><p>“Roman’s been a fan of your account for the past couple of years.” Logan said simply, looking over his shoulder at their new hire. “He looks forward to seeing your bi-monthly updates like one looks forward to opening presents at Christmas.”</p><p>Virgil went white, his other hand reaching to grab onto the desk as he swayed. “A <em> Fan?” </em>He squeaked. </p><p>"OF COURSE!!” Roman finally freed Logan from his finger-numbing grip to fall down to his knees at Virgil’s feet, arms spread wide.  “Do you know how much I positively<em> adore </em> your twist on a Nightmare Before Christmas series, Emo Knightmare?” He asked eagerly. “Tell me. What would it take to commission you to draw the entire cast Sallyized for me? One large painting to hang there over my desk? Anything's on the table. Name your price." </p><p>“I--I--” Virgil leaned back away from Roman’s onslaught, glancing to his portfolio on the desk. </p><p>At this rate, Virgil would bolt because his brother was acting like a starstruck fangirl. Logan exhaled, grabbing Roman by the shoulder. “Roman, perhaps you should tone down the adoration and stop terrorizing your new hire?”</p><p>“He’s--He’s not--” Virgil drew in a shallow breath. </p><p>Logan shook his head. “Well...even if he’s not, I shall assuage your fears anyway. You will still have your job even if you refuse, Virgil. Crofters forbid it doesn’t do Roman any harm to be told no every now and then.” He didn’t need him thinking that his twin wouldn’t hire him if he said no.</p><p>“Oh yes, your job isn’t ever in question with this, Stormcloud.” Roman said, slipping out from under Logan’s hand as he pushed to his feet and brushed off his pants. “Specs hired you and from what I’ve seen so far, I second it, <em> but. </em> ” His eyes went wide and pleading as he clasped his hands together. “I will be very very <em> very </em>heartbroken and will be giving you super sad puppy dog eyes like this everytime you see me for the next--”</p><p>“Three hours?” Logan asked, adjusting his glasses as he pulled his brother back another step to give Virgil space to breathe.</p><p>Roman made a face. “I was gonna say a week, but probably.” </p><p>Virgil swallowed, licking his lips. “You...really would…pay me? The Prince? Would...pay me?” </p><p>“Of course! I said--” Roman turned to Logan. “Did I not say that, Lo? Any price. I said that!”</p><p>“You did indeed.” Logan nodded, though he could see how Virgil wouldn’t be certain. Despite his flamboyance, Roman was rather covert in buying from up and coming artists. He’d yet to hear any rumors of rumors from anyone that ‘The Prince’ had bought their work. He could see why there would be skepticism at the genuinity of Roman’s offer.</p><p>“Great! Here.” Roman took Virgil by the arm, pulling him to a seat at his desk. “Specs will draw up your contract for the position. Wages, hours, so on and so forth. I trust he was quite thorough in whatever interview he gave you right before you found me right? Right. But you and I.” He smiled conspiracaly, pulling up a chair. “Need to talk shop. Come on. Commission. How much?” </p><p>Logan rolled his eyes, but sat behind Roman’s desk, his fingers already flying over the keyboard of his brother’s desktop to pull up the necessary forms to print out. “Of course, leave the boring paperwork to me.” </p><p>“It’s what you’re good at Specs.” Roman waved vaguely in his direction, his full attention on Virgil. “Come on Virge, can I call you Virge? Name your price.” </p><p>“I--I---Okay...uhmmm. Well…” Virgil rubbed the back of his head before dropping his hand to where Roman had touched him. “Were you actually wanting one large painting of everyone together or individual pieces that form a scene if placed side by side? </p><p>Roman’s eyes lit up as he leaned forward. “I was thinking the former, but the latter intrigues me. What would be the difference?” </p><p>“Well…” The corner of Virgil’s mouth twitched as he rested a hand on his portfolio. “You said name my price. Does it have to be just...monetary?” </p><p>Logan shared a knowing look with his brother, identical smiles breaking out on both of their faces. </p><p>Oh, their new hire was going to fit in rather well here if he was already thinking like that.</p><p>“No, no it does not.” Roman sat back placing his fingers together. “What were you thinking instead? A higher wage? A better position?”</p><p>Logan tensed. Why had Roman brought <em> that </em>up?! It was--</p><p>Virgil’s eyes darkened as he shook his head. “I told you, Princey, I’m not here because of blackmail <em> or </em>bribing. Personal commissions are and will always be considered separate from my job here. I won’t argue for things that I haven’t yet proven that I deserve.” </p><p>That was--that was good. Logan slowly let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, his fingers frozen on the keys. </p><p>“Alright...but if your asking price doesn’t include money, power, or position.” Roman raised an eyebrow. “What then are you wanting me to pay in?”</p><p>Virgil visibly swallowed. “Well, I would charge per character of course, and for Jack.” He placed a trembling hand on his portfolio. “My price--” He licked his lips, but didn’t break eye contact. “My price would be that I can wear my hoodie to work.” </p><p>Logan blinked. A...hoodie?</p><p>He again shared a look with Roman. It was an interesting choice, especially after his talk of not interfering with work, but then again, it was just an article of clothing. One that may put Virgil more at ease here than the ill fitting suit he currently wore. </p><p>Logan returned his attention to the laptop. “You are aware that our dress code is--” </p><p>“Business casual, yes.” Virgil said, pulling at the collar of his shirt, his fingers trailing down his tie. “And I can,” the corner of his mouth twitched in distaste. “follow that to a T, if this particular option doesn’t work for you, I promise. You just said--”</p><p>“Name any price.” Roman nodded, pulling out a pen and paper, quickly listing down a dozen characters from the movie. “For Jack.” He said circling the name and writing <em> wear hoodie at work </em>next to it. “I would allow the hoodie--but only at your desk. Any meetings, presentations, or red carpet events you’ll need to nix it.” </p><p>Virgil let out a breath, relaxing as he gave them a large genuine smile. “Deal.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Logan hadn’t meant to stay for the entire negotiations on Roman’s commission. He could have easily excused himself from the room as soon as he’d pulled up the proper forms for Virgil to read through, negotiate, and then sign.</p><p>After all, he had his own pile of work that needed to be seen to before the day was over and Roman was quite capable of hiring his own employees. </p><p>And yet.</p><p>He couldn’t help but be intrigued by what Virgil requested in exchange for each character piece that his brother wanted.</p><p>Virgil hadn’t been kidding when he said he’d followed Thomas from the beginning, and Logan should have realized when their new hire admitted to having <em> theories </em> on there being Two Princes at <em> StoryTime! </em> that he would be familiar with their work and placement within the company as well.</p><p>For Virgil had set to bartering with his brother like they were traders arguing over goods in the market. </p><p>And those goods...were their respective skill sets. For every artwork Roman wanted, Virgil had ended up negotiating what had amounted to practically a month’s worth of various lessons from The Prince himself. That didn’t mean just learning more drawing or animating techniques. Their new hire had also convinced Roman to give him a handful of acting lessons, one singing lesson, a sneak peak at a couple of scripts his brother was working on, and a copy of Roman’s Broadway performances Logan had secretly recorded before they’d been hired onto <em> StoryTime!. </em></p><p>How Virgil knew about those recordings Logan had no idea. He’d kept those tapes under wraps...so he’d thought. </p><p>But not once did a monetary value cross Virgil’s lips as the price for his work as he carefully took notes on his beat up phone of every detail his brother wanted.</p><p>Logan was sure their new hire could have used the cash, but to have him seeking to improve his skills was admirable. Plus, the amount of questions he asked showed that Virgil was willing to put in the work to make Roman happy, though it was very apparent that his brother, from the ragged state of his usually perfectly styled hair, hadn’t expected him to go into quite so much detail about what he wanted in each artwork. </p><p>Virgil pulled at the tie around his neck, loosening it to the point where it looked more like a shiny ribbon than a tie. “But Princey.” He argued, his eyes sparking with the fire Logan had seen down below as he leaned forward, pushing the sleeves of his suit up. “You <em> have </em>to pick one face of the Mayor.”</p><p>Roman buried his head in his hands. “I <em> knoooooow, </em>Stormcloud! Stop badgering me. I didn’t expect that I would need to!” </p><p>Virgil scoffed, tapping his phone screen. “You didn’t expe--have you ever done commissions before, Romanji? You’re basically the driving force of <em> StoryTime! </em> and you <em> can’t decide </em> on a face <em> ? </em> Where is this ‘ <em> You push on! No matter the hardship! No matter the voice that tells you you can’t!”  </em></p><p>His brother pointed a finger at Virgil without looking up. “Don’t you DARE quote <em> Psycho Godfather Wars </em> at me! GAH!” </p><p>Logan fought back a laugh as he shook his head, pulling the portfolio closer to him. “Honestly Roman, the solution to which face of the Mayor should wear is simple.” </p><p>“Simple!” Roman scoffed, twisting in his chair to him, throwing his arms out. “How can such a choice be considered simple!”</p><p>He raised an eyebrow. Well, it would have been a simple solution if he hadn’t distracted Roman from looking through Virgil’s entire portfolio. A pity. He would need to ensure his brother properly looked through it later tonight. “Virgil’s portfolio already contains the answer to your problem.”</p><p>“My artwork? Sure it’s--” Virgil ran a hand through his hair, flushing. “ah...g-good and all, but I don’t see how--”</p><p>Artists. Logan flipped open the page to the green basilisk from earlier, sliding it to them with a faint smile. </p><p>Virgil stared at it wide eyed before face palming. “OF COURSE!” </p><p>“Of course?” Roman leaned forward. “How does--” </p><p>Virgil shook his head. “It will probably take a bit of trial and error.” He said leaning forward. “But” He shifted the paper, so Roman could see the basilisk’s scales switch from green to white. “If I can get it to work on the head--”</p><p>“We can have the Mayor wear both faces at once! Virgil you genius!” Roman clapped him on the back before eagerly pulling the artwork to him. “How in the world did you do this? You gotta teach me!”</p><p>“Te--Teach you?” Virgil managed, going pale as he rubbed the spot Roman had touched.</p><p>Logan sat back, adjusting his glasses as his brother nodded, his eyes racing over the page while he shifted the paper back and forth. “It’s an ink right? But almost like paint--this is like ah!” Roman snapped his fingers. “Specs! Do you remember in school--with the gel pens?”</p><p>How could he forget? Logan pulled the pages of Virgil’s contract from the printer, ensuring they were all there and in order before he tapped them into a neat pile. “You mean the markers you filled with glitter that--”</p><p>“Caused Miss Mary Lee to sparkle for a month straight when one exploded? YES!” Roman chuckled. “She banned me from markers for the rest of the school year.” </p><p>Which was unfortunate because she couldn’t tell him and Roman apart so Logan too had been banned from them that year too. He quirked an eyebrow. “Not that it stopped you from ruining the crayons, the colored pencils, the regular pencils, every pen you touched, the chalk, the--”</p><p>“Seriously?” Virgil’s brought a fist to his lips, but not before a soft laugh broke free. “Princey, are you sure you’re not a Demon? A Destroyer of Creativity?”</p><p>Roman shot to his feet with an offended gasp. “HOW DARE YOU! I AM--”</p><p>“Definitely all those and more.” Logan interceded as Virgil jerked back, wide eyed. “At least, he was as a child.” He allowed. “He’s improved slightly since then.” He smirked, raising an eyebrow to Roman. “Slightly.” </p><p>His brother jerked a hand to his heart as if he’d been stabbed. “Traitor! I haven’t broken a pen in-” </p><p><em> “He’s not dead, Reese.” </em>Patton’s tiny voice piped up from Logan’s watch. </p><p><em> “Wanna bet your famous pasta on that?” </em> Her voice asked into the silence. <em> “He’s totally been taken by a Vampire.”  </em></p><p>“Vampire?” Virgil asked, glancing around for the source of the voices.</p><p>Roman’s lowered his hands, a smirk playing on his lips. “Oooh? You didn’t tell me the others are interested in our new hire.” </p><p>Virgil paled. “Others?” </p><p>Logan exhaled, silencing his watch. He had stayed too long. He should have realized his team would get suspicious with his absence. “And if I say yes?”</p><p>Roman’s smile grew, humor dancing in his eyes as he leaned in. “Then I would ask why exactly did you go find my new hire, Lo?”</p><p>Logan shrugged a shoulder, moving to stand so he was on the same eye level as Roman. He would need to tread carefully here. But it wasn’t like Virgil wouldn’t find out eventually. “As I told Virgil earlier, it was noted that he’d been outside for quite some time.” </p><p>“And you went to investigate?” His brother raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “You don’t go outside Specs.”</p><p>Logan rolled his eyes, fiddling with his glasses. “You know for a fact that I do.”</p><p>“Not before dusk. Maybe you’re a vampire after all.” </p><p>Of course his brother would make them go through such a silly conversation. He turned away, breaking eye contact as he slipped Virgil’s contract into a folder and handed it to Roman “Make sure Virgil reads, negotiates the proper terms and signs this before he leaves as I regrettably-” and it was regrettable as watching Virgil interact with Roman was far more fascinating than crunching numbers and managing budgets. “-have to return to my own department.” </p><p>“Right right, but don’t ignore the fact that you’re avoiding my accusation, brother dear.” Roman grinned, taking the contract with a nod. “Did you actually become a vampire and not tell me? Rude!”</p><p>Hardly. Though with everyone’s apparent obsession with the creatures Logan could foresee their MC being a vampire in <em> StoryTime!’s </em> next movie. “As Virgil can attest, I was fine standing in the sun. So obviously, I am not a vampire.” </p><p>“I dunno…” Virgil licked his lips, a careful humor all too similar to Roman’s sparking in his mismatched eyes as he pushed down his sleeves. “The forums did circle that particular rumor around for a while a couple years ago about you, Specs. But what is this...uh...bet? Why did you come outside to..well...see me…” He tilted his head, rubbing his arm as he studied Logan. “If you don’t usually leave?” </p><p>Roman suddenly smirked, laying the contract on the desk near his commission notes. “Ooooh. If I didn’t know better I would say this probably involves….” He paused for dramatic effect. “<em> Crofters. </em>”</p><p>Despite himself, Logan flinched. “No!” He denied, though from the way Roman’s eyes lit up, he’d negated the accusation far too quickly for it to be believable. </p><p>Virgil frowned, looking between the two. “Crofters? The Movie?”</p><p>“The jam.” Roman clarified. “Lo here’s obsessed with the stuff. Come on.” He advanced around the desk as Logan took two short steps backwards towards the door to stay out of range. “Tell us, brother mine. Why did Crofters make you go outside for my interviewee?”</p><p>Logan cleared his throat. “For the record I didn’t know who Virgil was or his purpose for being here when I ventured outside.”</p><p>“But you had your suspicions.” Their new hire said, shifting in his seat. “You asked if I was here for an interview.”</p><p>Logan nodded. “Yes, your portfolio was enough of an indication of that and Roman has lost people in his department recently, so it was a simple enough conjecture to assume you were here to interview with him.” </p><p>“Even so, dozens upon dozens of people holding portfolios have passed beneath our windows.” Roman stated, gesturing out his own windows. “Why then would you choose to interfere with my interview when you told, nay, you <em> promised </em> me you wouldn--”</p><p>“Alright!” Logan shook his head, spreading his arms in surrender. “I admit Crofters was the motivator for why I went outside but it had nothing, and I repeat, <em> nothing.” </em> He met Virgil’s mismatched eyes. “To do with me hiring you. You earned your spot at <em> StoryTime!, </em>Virgil. You have the talent and skill of one who’s worked with us for years. There’s no doubt there. Crofters had nothing to do with it.” He gestured to his watch. “While there are friendly bets that take place among the people who work here; policy, as is more fully outlined in your contract, dictates that said bets never involve work related matters. Since you are our new hire, no bets can be made about you or your work from here on out.”</p><p>Virgil let out an unsteady breath, giving a shallow nod. “Okay...good..yah...good to know…” He pulled the tie from around his neck, twisting it among his fingers. “So you...so this...bet?” </p><p>“Was between Patton and Reese on whether or not you would come inside the building, nothing more.” Logan said simply.</p><p>Roman blinked. “Come inside? Why wouldn’t he come inside?”</p><p>“Because the forums made you out to be freaking terrifying, Princey.” Virgil muttered.</p><p>His brother inhaled...hesitated then sheepishly shrugged. “Okay, That I can’t deny. I have a vision after all! I can’t settle for second rate!”  </p><p>That was accurate on both accounts. Hence Roman’s intense pre-interview requirements for each application. Logan shifted a step closer to the door. “Regardless, your loitering outside drew their attention and so the bet was made.” </p><p>“Right on me...coming inside.” Virgil ran his fingers through his hair, the careful humor coming back into his eyes. “So who won?” </p><p>Roman snapped his fingers. “Patton.” </p><p>Logan nodded, not at all surprised he had guessed correctly. “Yes. He was quite adamant that Virgil would come inside. Offering up six jars of Crofters and his triple death by chocolate brownies before I was made aware of the situation.” </p><p>His brother whistled, clapping Virgil on the shoulder. “SIX. EmoKnightmare you already have Patton’s heart! He never goes above three.” </p><p>Virgil flushed, fidgeting in his chair. “So...Reese?” </p><p>“Bet that you would not come in, yes, but do not take that to heart.” Logan said. “She enjoys being contrary as you’ll find out soon enough.” Once Virgil signed the paperwork and finished the basic training, he would be given a full tour around <em> StoryTime! </em>and introduced to the various teams. After all, Virgil couldn’t become part of the FamILY if he didn’t meet everyone. </p><p><em> “Ten more minutes and I’m calling it. R.I.P to Specs. He had a good run.” </em>Reese piped up from the watch. </p><p>Logan exhaled, straightening his tie. “That, I believe, is my cue to go assure the others that I am not dead and not a vampire.” </p><p>Virgil smirked, shoulders relaxing. “Being a vampire technically means you’re dead, well undead, but go off I guess.” </p><p>Logan rolled his eyes. “Finish your commission talk you two, and Roman.” He pointed a finger at his brother. “I expect Virgil’s signed contract on my desk before I leave.”</p><p>“Easy enough.” Roman winked returning to his chair. “Considering you never leave.” </p><p>He wasn’t going to live that down anytime soon was he? Logan gave them a nod. “Virgil, it’s been a pleasure. I look forward to seeing your work here at <em> StoryTime!.” </em></p><p>“Ah..yah..thanks…” Virgil rubbed the back of his head, giving him a half smile. “Cya around Specs.”</p><p>With the niceties over, Logan slipped outside, heading back to his own office. Of how he had expected his day to go, this momentary distraction with Virgil had been-</p><p>“HE LIVES!!” Callie cheered as he entered the room.</p><p>“I do indeed...why would you assume I did not?” Logan asked, briefly meeting Patton’s worried gaze and offered him a small smile. </p><p>Patton straightened, giving him a blindingly wide grin in return as he laid his sketchpad on the nearest desk.</p><p>“Because you were gone for forever that’s why!” Reese stated swiveling to him. “Soooo?” </p><p>“So?” Logan rolled down his sleeves as she threw her hands out with a scoff. </p><p>“Weeeeelllll, what <em> happened </em>Specs? Is the kid any good at all or did you just want Patton to win the bet?” </p><p>“Virgil has been hired on as <em> StoryTime!’s </em> newest member of the FamILY <em> .” </em>He said matter of factly, glancing to Patton and Callie as they cheered.</p><p>“YES!” Patton pumped his fist. “I knew you could do it, kiddo!” He stood, looking around. “Where is he? Can I meet him?”</p><p>Like he would be able to stop Patton from darting off to find him even if he said no. “He’s finishing filling out the forms with Roman now, so I wouldn’t interrupt them just yet. <em> BUT. </em>” Logan adjusted his glasses, looking to each of them in turn. “Virgil was hired based on his skills, not because I wanted Patton to win the bet. It could have easily been you, Reese, if he had been found lacking.” </p><p>Reese groaned, dropping her head to her desk with a thud. “That doesn’t make me feel better, Specs. I had could have had six. <em> SIX. </em> Jars of Crofters <em> and </em>the triple death by chocolate brownies on my desk tomorrow morning. But Noooooo. You’ve deprived me of the simple joys in life.” </p><p>Dramatic as always. “You didn’t lose everything, Reese.” He said, waiting until she lifted her head before he continued. “Virgil didn’t enter the building until I invited him in.” </p><p>“<em>What?!” </em>Callie gasped, eyes going wide. “No!”</p><p>Reese cackled, grinning like a demon. “YES! That means candy for me!” She spun to Callie, holding out her hand. “A handful of your-” Her lips twisted. “<em> Christmas </em>candy, Cals. As agreed.” </p><p>“I can’t believe he’s a vampire! He was out in the <em> sun.” </em>She whispered, unknowingly echoing Logan’s earlier point as she pulled open a drawer in her desk. </p><p>“Well maybe he’s a hybrid.” Reese threw out. “Times have changed since the world went from black and white to color and ARE THOSE FREAKING CANDY CANES?” </p><p>Callie blinked, holding up a dozen multicolored candy canes towards Reese. “Yes?”</p><p>“<em>Why </em> in the <em> world </em>do you have those HERE already?!” She practically screeched. “EW!! Cal! That’s an affront to all things Thanksgiving!”</p><p>Laughter danced in Callie’s eyes as she shook her head. “No it’s not. I thought it was rather festiv--”</p><p>Logan turned to Patton and tilted his head towards the door in a silent question. </p><p>Patton nodded and the two of them slipped out of the room while the girls were distracted with their argument over when holidays should be celebrated. </p><p>“So? How did it go really?” Patton asked as soon as they entered Logan’s office, eagerly taking a seat. “You took quite a while to look through the kid--ah Virgil’s work before you both came inside and then you well.” He made a small poofing noise. “Vanished.” </p><p>“It went…” Logan ran his fingers along his tie as he sat down. “Well. Virgil was nervous to face my brother and so I offered to look through his portfolio for him and after what I saw….” He looked up. “I hired him on the spot.” He confided quietly.  </p><p>Patton gasped, nearly falling off his chair as he leaned forward to grab Logan’s hands, eyes wide with concern. “You?!--but after last time, you knew Roman--” </p><p>“Would be upset and he was as expected.” Logan twisted his wrists so his fingers twined with Patton’s. “But the risk I took was calculated and you know how good I am at math.” He said, “Roman was quick to change his tune when he realized that Virgil was none other than his beloved EmoKnightmare478.” </p><p>”WHAT?!” Patton shrieked, bouncing in his chair, squeezing Logan’s hands. “That--How COOL! Was Roman excited?”</p><p>Logan didn’t hold back his smile. Really the odds of Virgil being the interview had been beyond extraordinary. He was sure Roman would be gushing about this for weeks. “Beyond excited. He’s commissioning Virgil to draw the entire <em> Nightmare Before Christmas </em> cast in the Sallyized Jack style.”</p><p>Patton’s eyes went wide behind his glasses. “Whoa.” He breathed. </p><p>“Exactly. Which is why I didn’t return right away, I was overseeing their negotiations…the kid--” Logan let out a breath, squeezing Patton’s hands. “He’s got quite the unique outlook. He has amazing, innovative designs of his own make and an active eye to <em> StoryTime!’s </em> future that could help us continue to reach out to more audiences and I just--” </p><p>“You just?” Patton encouraged, softly, eyes shimmering as he glanced to the door, more than likely itching to go meet Virgil in person though his hands remained steady in Logan’s.</p><p>He shrugged. “I think he’ll fit in quite well here. Plus, he and Roman are actually getting along and that’s...big.” His brother didn’t always warm up quickly to the new hires and he and Virgil already had quite the dynamic going. </p><p>“If Roman likes him, then I’m sure he’ll fit in just fine here with the rest of us, Lo.” Patton said, giving him a sly wink as he gestured to the three jars of Crofters sitting on his desk. “We’ll make the kiddo feel like he’s part of the FamILY in no time. I promise.”</p>
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